BREAKING NEWS: NBA Basketball Zach LaVine joins Kings royalty with 42-point performance and…

 

Monday night signaled Zach LaVine’s emergence as a key factor in the Kings’ success with the season’s stretch run approaching. Acquired at the February trade deadline from Chicago, LaVine had played well for his new team over his first seven games, but his performance has started to turn heads.

LaVine had 42 points (16-19 FG, 8-9 3Pt, 2-3 FT), three rebounds, two assists and one steal over 31 minutes in Monday’s 130-88 win over Charlotte, showing he can still be one of the most dominant scorers in the league when his shot is falling. Advanced stats show LaVine put up one of the most efficient scoring efforts by any player during the 2024-25 NBA season.

The Kings guard became the fourth player in the 2024-25 campaign to reach the 40-point mark while attempting less than 20 shots, joining James Harden, Devin Booker and Jalen Green in that exclusive list. Harden scored 41 points in a win over the Jazz while needing 17 shots, shooting12-for-14 from the charity stripe. Booker had 40 against the Clippers and Green posted 42 against the Grizzlies while needing 18 shots each, though both also recorded more than 10 points from the free throw line.

Meanwhile, LaVine scored only two of his 42 points from the free-throw line, missing just three of his 19 shots and one of his nine treys. His .842 field goal percentage was the best mark for any player who has scored at least 40 points in a game this season, and the same can be said about his 1.033 TS%.

LaVine also posted the second-highest field-goal percentage while scoring at least 40 points in franchise history. The only player who bested LaVine’s mark was Mike Woodson, who delivered a 48-point masterpiece while shooting 91.7 percent from the floor (22-24 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 3-6 FT) in a 128-106 win over the Rockets during the 1982-83 season. Woodson’s feat came when the Kings were playing in Kansas City, not in Sacramento.

LaVine is averaging 23.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in his eight games with the Kings. Sacramento has a two-game cushion over the Suns for the final spot in the SoFi Play-In tournament and it begins an important four-game road swing Wednesday against the Jazz.